Big Think

Nicholas Bousquet commented on Sam Harris Considers a Creator on January 29, 2008, 4:08 PM

I would have to say that you pose some excellent points here regarding the many ironies of religion. It is my personal feeling that religion was created as a coping mechanism in a time when humanity had a lesser understanding of the world they lived in. The one thing people have always been afraid of is the unknown and perhaps that is why religion developed; to explain those questions that are unanswerable i.e. why are we here, what happens after we die, etc. You had a good question in asking that if one religion is true and correct then how will we know, and if so then how did all of these other schools of thought originate? The only problem here is that when debating religion there will always be the people that simply state that "you must have faith", and there is really no way to counter an argument of that nature because they do not use evidence or rational thinking to form a response, it is strictly opinion with no scientifis or rational process behind it.

Nicholas Bousquet commented on Sam Harris Considers a Creator on January 29, 2008, 11:08 AM

I would have to say that you pose some excellent points here regarding the many ironies of religion. It is my personal feeling that religion was created as a coping mechanism in a time when humanity had a lesser understanding of the world they lived in. The one thing people have always been afraid of is the unknown and perhaps that is why religion developed; to explain those questions that are unanswerable i.e. why are we here, what happens after we die, etc. You had a good question in asking that if one religion is true and correct then how will we know, and if so then how did all of these other schools of thought originate? The only problem here is that when debating religion there will always be the people that simply state that "you must have faith", and there is really no way to counter an argument of that nature because they do not use evidence or rational thinking to form a response, it is strictly opinion with no scientifis or rational process behind it.

Nicholas Bousquet commented on Will universal healthcare yield the same poor results as universal education? on January 20, 2008, 12:31 PM

You also have to weigh the down sides of universal healthcare... For instance "Free" healthcare is not really free, it still must be paid for so this means higher taxes and spending cuts in other areas such as education and defense. Also government mandated procedures will reduce the oppurtunity for a doctor to correctly do their job which will lead to poor patient care. There will also be a large loss of jobs in many areas seeing that private healthcare is a large employer in America (and unemployment is already high). We may also have a drastic decrease in those wishing to work in the medical field because of the loss of private practice options and possible reduced pay. Not to mention that the healthy people will be forced to pay for the burden of those who smoke, use drugs, are obese, the list goes on...

Nicholas Bousquet commented on John McCain: Is the American govenment too secretive? on January 19, 2008, 5:15 PM

I do not believe that our government is too secretive, as a matter of fact in some cases we are too open. I was previously an Intelligence Specialist in Washington, DC first in the military, then after in a civilian status. We cannot allow the public to know everything for a reason and it is not out of any attempt to supress the masses, it is simply due to national security. Even with the few citizens that do have a security clearance and a "need to know" on topics we still have media leaks and espionage, can you imagine if the entire country knew everything? There is no doubt that our enemies would have access to everything and our military and economic superiority would be a thing of the past.

Nicholas Bousquet commented on Will universal healthcare yield the same poor results as universal education? on January 19, 2008, 4:33 PM

Yes, I believe that it would. It has been proven (at least within the United States) that profit motives, competition, and individual ingenuity have always led ot greater effectiveness, not to mention cost control. Besides no government agency ever truly runs efficiently and health care is a very complex initiative.